Halloween Reads
Sarah Hazzard asked this question about The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity:
Is this from an unbiased (as much as one could be) viewpoint, or is it noticeably conservative/liberal?
Andrew One distinction I see a lot of people get wrong is different political/ideological terminology, so I'd like to clear that up first:

Left vs. Right: Soc…moreOne distinction I see a lot of people get wrong is different political/ideological terminology, so I'd like to clear that up first:

Left vs. Right: Social equality vs Social hierarchy. Left-wingers generally want everyone to be the same (egalitarianism), while right-wingers generally accept there are inherent hierarchies and there's no way around it.

Progressive vs. conservative: Progressives want change because things could be better (for progress, because things are backwards and antiquated), conservatives are skeptical of change because change is scary (conserve what we have because we understand it and it works more-or-less).

Liberal vs Authoritarian: Liberals want freedom for the individual and the people (small government, civil rights, free market), while authoritarians (has a bad connotation but not necessarily entirely bad) want centralized control (big government, regulation) and conformity to rules.

Long story short, you can be a liberal conservative (someone who prioritizes individual freedom, but is averse to change).

Anyway here's my perspective on the political bias of this book:
I think the conversation revolving around the topic of this book inherently addresses social progressive/leftist viewpoints because it addresses gender/race identity and madness that spawns from ideologies that value group identity above all else. In that sense I would call it conservative because Murray is basically saying "Look at this is insanity. This is going too far. And here are strange and startling examples why."

I really enjoyed this read (listened to the audiobook) and I learned a lot about the nuance in gay politics for example. I wasn't aware of the contentious divide between the original gay rights movement (we want certain rights we don't have as a class) vs. today's postmodern identitarian/social-justice-warrior movement (we are an unhappy mob of many minority groups who have no clear agenda other than to get what we want whatever that may be).

On the other hand, by writing about the madness and comparing it in a historical context (gay rights, women's rights, civil rights, etc.) of what the pivotal movements were trying to achieve, Murray highlights the good progressive ideas from the bad, and illustrates it beautifully by providing current events, rational observations of said events, and logical fallacies (red herrings, strawmen, ad hominems). I ended up looking up a lot of the events that he outlines in the book.

In good faith, I would say this is as unbiased as one could be on the topic of discussion.(less)
flag
More questions about The Madness of Crowds…
Image for The Madness of Crowds
The Madness of Crowds
by Douglas Murray
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more